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After finishing the morning training focused on physical conditioning, the players gathered in the dining hall inside the training ground. Sitting at a table with Jeong-gyu and a couple of players he was acquainted with, Moo-gyeom set down his tray and immediately scanned his surroundings with just his eyes. The atmosphere from the locker room was continuing even more blatantly.
‘Looks like I won’t be able to eat in peace for a while.’
Pretending not to notice the glances, he sighed inwardly, when Jeong-gyu gestured and called over a few passing players.
“Woojin, Seongmin! Come here. Let’s eat together.”
“Oh, yes!”
The youthful players, who looked barely around twenty, were startled but didn’t refuse. Carrying their trays, they hurried over and sat next to Jeong-gyu instead of beside Moo-gyeom, exchanging glances and grinning. As Moo-gyeom let out a small chuckle, Jeong-gyu scolded them.
“You guys. If you’re curious about Moo-gyeom, you should act friendly and get close to him. If you just watch from afar like that, do you think this guy will take the initiative and act like a senior? He’s not the type.”
“That’s something you say right in front of me?”
Moo-gyeom frowned slightly at the unflattering introduction. As he gave a small nod toward the newly seated players, they quickly bowed their heads deeply in greeting. One of them hurriedly spoke to him.
“Hyung, are you really staying with our team for a year?”
“I can’t believe it….”
It’s just the first day, you’ll believe it soon.
Moo-gyeom finally picked up his utensils and began eating. Still, being able to eat proper meals every day was a big advantage.
Greenford’s meals weren’t bad either, but seeing a Korean meal with rice, soup, and side dishes in front of him filled him with deep satisfaction. Even after nearly ten years in England, tastes ingrained in childhood didn’t change easily. As he continued eating, one player seemed to recall something and spoke.
“Ah, hyungs. You heard about Ha-joon, right? I think he’s starting work with our team the day after tomorrow or the day after that.”
“Oh, right. Ha-joon’s coming. Come to think of it, it’s already that time.”
Jeong-gyu and several others reacted knowingly. Moo-gyeom raised his eyebrows slightly and asked.
“Ha-joon?”
“Lee Ha-joon. You know him, right? You played together in the last World Cup.”
“Ah.”
Lee Ha-joon. Lee Ha-joon…. Repeating the name in his head, Moo-gyeom nodded vaguely. He couldn’t remember every player he only met briefly during national team call-ups without personal connections, but during the World Cup, they had been together for quite a while.
Still, all that came to mind was something like, ‘Yeah, there was a guy like that.’ For some reason, the impression was blurry and didn’t clearly come back.
“I feel like I remember him, but not quite.”
“You’ll remember when you see his face. Which match was it? He even assisted you once.”
“Is he transferring from another team?”
Jeong-gyu frowned and shook his head.
“No. He’s coming as a coach. He had some circumstances and retired early. Right after retiring, he studied hard, got his certification, and worked as an intern and with the youth team until last season. Starting this season, he’s coming here.”
“How old is he?”
“Same age as us.”
At twenty-six, retiring and becoming a coach was definitely early… but not unheard of. He’d probably be the youngest among the coaching staff. Moo-gyeom nodded without much thought.
“You, me, and Ha-joon are all the same age. When he comes, let’s grab a drink, the three of us. You’re here, he’s coming—everyone has their own circumstances, but I like it.”
“Sounds like you’re close with him?”
“He’s close with everyone. He’s got a good personality. Unlike you.”
“Then he must be different from you too.”
Adding a jab each time while acting like he’s the only nice one—it was annoying. Moo-gyeom shot back briefly and returned to eating. After that, he focused solely on his meal in silence, finished faster than the others, and stood up without caring whether they were still eating or talking. Striding through the long tables, he placed his empty tray at the return counter.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Oh my, Kim Moo-gyeom! Eat more. Want some more?”
The cook who received his tray looked at him warmly, as if he were her own son visiting on military leave.
Moo-gyeom answered politely.
“Thank you, but I’m fine.”
“Next time eat more. What do you like? Just tell us! We’ll make anything.”
At the open display of kindness, Moo-gyeom gave a silent smile, which only encouraged more affection.
“Seriously, how are you so well-built and handsome? I’d love to set you up with my daughter. If you’re interested, just tell me anytime. Young people these days are fine just casually meeting, right?”
“Stop it! Why are you being like this on his first day?”
Before Moo-gyeom could even respond, they started bickering among themselves. Leaving the small commotion behind, he exited the dining hall. The food was good, the kitchen atmosphere was nice—Moo-gyeom walked back toward the training ground with a somewhat warm feeling.
There were still about twenty minutes left before afternoon training began. As he walked across the grass like a stroll to get used to the new training ground, he spotted Junseong, the coach. He was standing face to face with another man, talking. Moo-gyeom smiled and headed over.
“Coach, have you eaten?”
“Oh, Moo-gyeom. Finished eating?”
“Yes.”
At that moment, the man who had been showing only his back turned his head. Their eyes met.
He had assumed he was one of the coaches from morning training, but the face was unfamiliar. He looked like a gentle man. Jun-sung gestured as if the timing was perfect.
“Good time to introduce you. You heard, right? This is Kim Moo-gyeom, who’ll be playing for our team this season.”
“Yes. Who wouldn’t know him?”
The man answered and fully turned toward Moo-gyeom. Facing him directly, his impression changed slightly.
His eyes, with relatively large whites and slightly upturned ends, looked at Moo-gyeom. He seemed gentle, yet had an air like thin paper that could crumple at any moment.
It wasn’t quite a powerless or weak feeling—perhaps it came from his pale skin and delicate features. He spoke first.
“Long time no see. Nice to meet you.”
Who is this? He acts like we’ve met before, feels like I’ve seen him somewhere….
Instead of voicing the curiosity rising inside, Moo-gyeom extended his hand in greeting. The man looked at it, shook it briefly, and let go. Jun-sung introduced him.
“Lee Ha-joon, who’ll be joining our team as a new physical coach. He officially starts in a few days, but he came by today to submit some documents.”
“Ah.”
Moo-gyeom let out a short exclamation without realizing it. So this was the person they had mentioned at the dining hall.
Jeong-gyu had said he would recognize him when he saw his face but that wasn’t quite right. He didn’t feel entirely familiar, yet not entirely unfamiliar either. He felt like someone he had seen before but couldn’t clearly remember. Not a vague impression, but still not distinct.
As he tried to place him, Moo-gyeom soon gave a bitter smile inwardly. During the last World Cup, he had been on edge the whole time and hadn’t really mingled with others, so if he had mostly seen him then, it wouldn’t be strange if the memory had faded.
That was three years ago. After playing all year with top-tier teammates at Greenford, it had been hard to suddenly train for barely a month with a loosely assembled national team and struggle through matches with a shaky squad. Unable to even pretend to hide his discomfort, and with his motivation running ahead of everyone else in his first World Cup, the gap between him and the other players only grew wider.
Criticism from the media and the public also focused on him, calling him arrogant because he was a foreign-based star. Wasn’t he even singled out as the ’cause of defeat’ despite scoring the most goals? Kim Moo-gyeom’s first World Cup remained one he didn’t want to revisit, and perhaps because of that, his memories of the teammates from that time were hazy. He wasn’t as reckless as back then anymore, but he had only become a bit more restrained.
Back then and now, Moo-gyeom didn’t actively approach people unless he needed them first, nor did he make it easy for others to approach him. He believed he wasn’t particularly ill-tempered, but perhaps due to the combination of his somewhat blunt-looking face, large build, and straightforward personality that didn’t hide emotions much, people often felt distant from him just by his presence.
Because of that, he had struggled even more during the early days abroad when he couldn’t speak the language, but even after those experiences, he never felt the need to change his personality. After all, time tended to resolve such things.
“Hey. What do you mean ‘ah’? You should greet him.”
The coach’s slightly embarrassed scolding pulled Moo-gyeom out of his thoughts. He looked at Ha-joon standing before him. What should he say? After a brief consideration, he chose the safe route.
“Nice to meet you, Coach Lee.”
Then Jun-sung chuckled and asked.
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